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By DEVI SHASTRI, AP Health Writer

U.S. measles cases topped 700 as of Friday, capping a week in which Indiana joined five others states with active outbreaks, Texas grew by another 60 cases and a third measles-related death was made public.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed in a televised Cabinet meeting Thursday that measles cases were plateauing nationally, but the virus continues to spread mostly in people who are unvaccinated and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention redeployed a team to West Texas.

The U.S. has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024, and Texas is reporting the majority of them with 541.

Texas’ cases include two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children who died from measles-related illnesses near the epicenter of the outbreak in rural West Texas, which led Kennedy to visit the community Sunday. The third person who died was an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated.

Other states with active outbreaks — defined as three or more cases — include New Mexico, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio and Oklahoma.

The multistate outbreak confirms health experts’ fears that the virus will take hold in other U.S. communities with low vaccination rates and that the spread could stretch on for a year. The World Health Organization has said cases in Mexico are linked to the Texas outbreak.

Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.

Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.

How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico?

Texas’ outbreak began in late January. State health officials said Friday there were 36 new cases of measles since Tuesday, bringing the total to 541 across 22 counties — most of them in West Texas. A total of 56 Texans have been hospitalized throughout the…

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By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday refused to block immigration agents from conducting enforcement operations at houses of worship in a lawsuit filed by religious groups over a new policy adopted by the Trump administration.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington handed down the ruling in a lawsuit filed by more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans.

The judge found that there have been only a handful of such enforcement actions and the faiths had not shown the kind of legal harm that would justify a preliminary injunction.

“At least at this juncture and on this record, the plaintiffs have not made the requisite showing of a ‘credible threat’ of enforcement,” wrote Friedrich, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term. “Nor does the present record show that places of worship are being singled out as special targets.”

On Jan. 20, his first day back in office, Trump’s Republican administration rescinded a Department of Homeland Security policy limiting where migrant arrests could happen. Its new policy said field agents using “common sense” and “discretion” can conduct immigration enforcement operations at houses of worship without a supervisor’s approval.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys claimed the new Homeland…

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Here is a sampling of things to do in the San Fernando Valley and the greater Los Angeles area.

EVENTS

Great Delano Barnyard Egg Hunt: Spring event with an egg hunt, contests, games and jumpers, 3-6 p.m. April 11. For ages 2-14. Bring a basket. Delano Recreation Center, 15100 Erwin St., Van Nuys. 818-756-8529. Details on the flyer: tinyurl.com/54br8pf2

Granada Hills Recreation Center: Event includes arts and crafts, contests, games, jumpers, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. April 12. Egg hunts are timed by age: ages 0-2 at noon; ages 3-5 at 12:10 p.m.; ages 6-7 at 12:20 p.m.; ages 8-9 at 12:30 p.m.; ages 10-12 at 12:40. Bring a basket. Location, 16730 Chatsworth St., Granada Hills. 818-363-3556. https://www.instagram.com/granadahillsrecreationcenter/p/DGBsSYEzzDO/

Springfest Family Festival – Shadow Ranch Recreation Center: The annual event includes activities, entertainment, games and egg hunts, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 12. Location, 22633 Vanowen St., West Hills. 818-883-3637. Event flyer: tinyurl.com/yvbbst7m

To find more Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks upcoming spring festival and egg hunts, go to their website, scroll the list of recreation centers, click on your local or favorite Los Angeles city park to see if there is a spring event or egg hunt listed on the center’s page. www.laparks.org/reccenter or here tinyurl.com/arhr8a8f

Spring Jubilee – County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation: Celebration of springtime with activities that include egg hunts, crafts, games, performances and food tasting, through April 19. Events include, 4-7 p.m. April 11 at El Cariso Park (13100 Hubbard St., Sylmar; 818-367-5043); and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. April 12 at Crescenta Valley Park (3901 Dunsmore Ave., La Crescenta; 818-249-5940). Free admission. No registration required to attend. List of County of Los Angeles parks and recreation centers holding events (hours, activities and programs vary): parks.lacounty.gov/spring/

City of Santa Clarita Cowboy…

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The L.A. City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to explore withdrawing from the troubled agency tasked with serving the unhoused just one week after L.A. County supervisors voted to end hundreds of millions of dollars in annual funding.

County supervisors voted last week to pull nearly $350 million a year in funding from the L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA, following a series of scathing reports on accountability and transparency.

The City Council had previously voted to explore defunding the agency, but that has taken on new urgency in the wake of the county’s decision. Council members who previously supported the city and county staying with LAHSA now say they need to also withdraw or be taken advantage of.

The city currently provides more than $300 million to LAHSA each year, which the agency uses to provide homeless services across the county. LAHSA is overseen by a commission appointed by city and county elected officials.

“As far as I am concerned, LAHSA is effectively ended,” L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said before the vote Tuesday.

The city’s chief legislative analyst and city administrative officer will now report to the council within 30 days on options for separating from LAHSA.

“LAHSA has continued to show themselves to be a very big part of the problem,” said Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who added that cities such as Glendale and Long Beach have done a better job at managing homelessness with their own agencies than LAHSA has in greater Los Angeles.

The vote came hours after the Department of Justice announced it was forming a federal task force to investigate potential fraud, waste and corruption in Los Angeles County when it comes to spending federal funding on homelessness. On Friday, the…

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration’s firing of 16,000 probationary federal employees go forward, at least for now.

In an unsigned opinion and without reaching the question of whether the terminations themselves were lawful, the court said that the nonprofits that brought the case did not have legal standing to sue over federal employees’ firings.

The vote was 7 to 2. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have kept the firings paused while the case plays out in the lower courts.

The court’s narrow ruling applies only to the nonprofits in Tuesday’s lawsuit, and it did not decide on the case as a whole. Nonetheless, the court’s decision makes it more difficult for groups affected by government layoffs to challenge mass firings systematically.

In that sense, the court’s action is a victory for the Trump administration and its effort to dramatically shrink federal agencies and programs, concentrating executive power in the White House.

Probationary employees dismissed

Following an executive order signed by President Trump on February 11, The Office of Personnel Management told agencies to terminate all but essential probationary employees. Probationary employees are typically recent agency hires or tenured employees serving in new roles.

Various agencies promptly began firing employees, ultimately totaling tens of thousands. Federal workers’ unions and a group of nonprofit organizations sued the Office of Personnel Management and several agencies, including the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and Treasury, to halt the firings.

Those challenging the dismissals argued that OPM doesn’t have the authority to order firings. They also argued that the federal…

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